St. Landry democrat., 1887-12-03

ton to SCOur the country Win every
means that money and expert experience
could suggest and procure.
Now comes the romance.
The problem is to find boy, now
young man of twenty, who has been lost
fifteen years, concerning whom there Is
absolutely no clue, nothing known what
ever beyond the fact of a sudden, unex-
planned, mysterious disappearance. The
mayor, to whom the letters of introduce
ton were given, expressed polite interest
in the matter, but truthfully said he could
give no practical solution of a problem
SO difficult, but would instruct the police
authorities to use their best endeavor to
the desired end SummOning the in
spector in charge of the detectives he
laid before him the case, and suggested
that inasmuch as Mr.. Wilson was abun-
dainty able to pay for the service, 1t might
| be wise to give him one or two hrst-
class men whose salaries and expenses
would of course be betrayed by him,
plan he thought much better than to in
trust the search to the general routine
on-going of the office. The inspector
agreed with him and assigned him John
Crosby, a bright, quick-witted detective
who had shown brainy qualities far be-
yond his wears, and who, after an ex-
detrimental service of some months, had
been recently made member OF the
force.
Crosby's history was like that of q
thousand New York boys.
His father was humble Iris shman who
in earlier years had charge of gang OF
sewer-cleaners. He was what was then
known as foreman of the big pipes. 1t
was his duty to superintend and super
wise the work of about fifty men who
went through the large sewers of the
city, cleansing them, removing obstruc-
tions, looking out for leaks, repairing
breakages. He had married fellow
country woman, by whom little boy
was given him-a little boy who lived to
be four years of age and then died sud
denly of typhoid fever.
Both parents were inconsolable.
One evening shortly after the death
of their little boy Crosby surprised his
wife, on coming home from his days
labor, by presenting her as he entered
the room with little chap neatly
dressed, round-eyed and pretty man
nered, with tear stained cheeks and gar
ments covered with mud and ooze.
"There, Bridget" said he, The Fayther
took from US little Tim. Providence has
sent us another" Right cheerfully did
Bridget go to work. She stripped and
dressed the little fellow, gave him his sup
per and with encouragements put him
to bed, and sat bv him until he went to
sleep In the morning she questioned
him concerning his parents, but could
get nothing ineligible from him beyond
the fact that his name was Johnny. that
he had fallen into the large sewer open
ing at the foot of the park, and that after
a half hour of agony and terror he had
been rescued bv Crosby who took him In
his arms and brought him to his home.
Only this and nothing more.
He cried for his papa and asked for his
mamma, but selfshness dominated the
Crosby home; hungry hearts longed for
this dainty morsel, and shutting their
eyes to all possible consequences else
where, the Crosbys hugged the delusion
as they also Rugged the boy to. their
hearts and kept him. They sent him to
a public school where he did well. They
lived in Blocker street not far from po-
lice headquarters, about which, with the
other boys of the neighborhood, he played
hide and seek, spy, the wolf, tag, mar
bes and baseball He seemed to have
passion for the locust club and the brass
buttons, and soon became a favorite with
BILE building, which strengthened as he
grew from boyhood to young manhood,
leading ultimately, as we have shown, to
few months experiment in certain del
icate detective operations, in which he
conducted himself so well-distinguished
himself really-that it was deemed wise
to take him on the force.
Well, you see the end.
Is il not obvious?
Why pursue the intricacies of plot
and man9uvre, why follow the story of
widespread advertising, of records of
search, of a continuity of travel from
Wisconsin to New York, systematic
following of dozen trails, until acci
dent revealed to Wilson the story of the
detective, and pressure being brought to
bear upon the elder Crosby, his wife hav-
ing long since joined the great majority,
the truth came out that as the boy Wilson
was lost, so the boy Crosby was found;
as the boy Wilson disappeared at a GER
tain date and hour, so the boy Crosby
was found on that certain date and at
that hour, there could be no reasonable
doubt as to the identity of the lad. But
Yes, you are right; it took weeks and
months, and an entire year, indeed, be-
fore the terms of social intercourse on
which these people stood were OF such
intimate nature than any interest was felt
in the story of Jim Crosby, the detective.
Crosby himself didn't know the details
of his story.
He knew, indeed, that he was waif,
and that he had been adopted by his father
and mother, but he did not know the fact
of his disappearance and of his deliver
ance from the sewer. 1t was not until
the quick eye of Mrs. Wilson detected
the inroads John Crosby manly manner
and straightforward conduct and as
siduity of attention had produced upon
her daughter Mary that she brought her
mind to bear upon the situation, and
made inquiries of both him and his asso-
ciates, concerning his life, his character,
his antecedents.
Then came the story, then came vol
ume of happiness which no worldly pen
can describe, no earthly brush could
paint, but with it moments pang that
blasted for the time being every fibre of
the young mans heart. The joy he felt
when he discovered himself to be the
son of this man Wilson didn't begin to
aoua1 the AGONY he felt when he thoupht